What Is A Handicap In Golf

Learn what a golf handicap is and start calculating your own golf handicap with as little as 1 score.

A golf handicap is a measure of your potential playing ability. Roughly it is the number of strokes over par
that you are capable of shooting.

People use their golf handicaps to be able to play golf against golfers of different abilities, on an even playing field.

Handicaps allow golfers of all different abilities to play in matches and tournaments in an "even" fashion.

In theory, somebody that has a 10 handicap can play against somebody who is a 20 handicap at an even level, if they give the 20
handicap golfer 10 strokes.

A handicap in more detail...

Your golf handicap is calculated over your last 20 rounds of golf (less if haven't reached 20 yet), and the best 50% of the
rounds are used to determine roughly your average strokes over par. (adjusted for course difficulty)

The average of these strokes over par per round becomes your handicap.

Ok, so now we know how handicaps are calculated and what they are used for. Now lets see how an actual match between 2 players of
different handicaps would take place.

Example: 10 Handicap Plays 20 Handicap

The 10 handicap golfer has to give the 20 handicap golfer 10 strokes over the course of the 18 hole match. But when does he give
them the strokes, on which holes?

If the match is stroke play, then it doesn't matter which holes he gets the strokes on, 10 strokes is simply subtracted from the 20 hdcp
golfers final score.

If the match is match play, then the 20 handicap golfer will receive 1 stroke on the 10 hardest holes on the course
(which is determined by looking at the lowest handicap holes on the scorecard, 1 handicap is the hardest hole, 18 is the easiest.)

So , on the 10 hardest holes, the 20 handicap golfer would receive a stroke.

The process of entering your scores and getting into the application is pretty dead simple. Just log in,
select your course, a tee and put in our score.
That's about it. Once you have entered 20 scores, you can also print out a handicap card for yourself.

Sean Lensbornwww.DeepRough.com

As for myself, I've actually stopped using my local NCGA handicap membership,
because you have to pay $75 every year to use it. While that's not a lot of money,
I also don't really need the service because I can use golf handicap calculators
such as this one.

Max LeeProGolferDigest.com

I am very excited to
continue using your site and I thank you for providing such a site. FYI, I have spread the word to my friends via Facebook
in an effort to help you get more press.